An Indian astronomy enthusiast and fourteen others have been listed as the winners of a NASA contest to name five craters on Mercury. This news comes soon after the Messenger (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) probe crashed into the planet’s surface following 4 years of collecting data about it.
Now a recent press release by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has announced Enheduanna, Karsh, Carolan, Kulthum and Rivera to be the winning names which were submitted as part of a contest to christen a bunch of craters on Mercury. The NASA competition was open to the public between 15 December 2014 and 15 January 2015.
The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature picked seventeen names for consideration in the semifinal round, after which five were eventually agreed upon. The Messenger team at NASA wanted to list five impact craters on Mercury under the identities of individuals well known in the Arts and Humanities fields. Gagan Toor from India proposed Enheduanna as one of the names. Many scholars believe that this Akkadian princess who lived in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq and Kuwait), was the earliest known author and poet.
Joseph Brusseau and Deane Morrison from the US as well as Fergal Donnelly from Belgium suggested Carolan. US citizen Elizabeth Freeman Rosenzweig submitted Karsh, while Ricardo Martinez and Arturo Gutierrez from Mexico, and Rebecca Hare and José Martinez from the US nominated Rivera. Molouk Ba-Isa, a resident of Saudi Arabia, Switzerland’s Riana Rakotoarimanana, and Yehya Hassouna, David Suttles, Thorayya Said Giovannelli and Matt Giovannelli from the US were keen on a crater from Mercury being called Kulthum.
Turlough O’Carolan was a 16th to 17th century Irish composer and Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter and muralist (1920s to 1950s). Umm Kulthum was an Egyptian singer, songwriter and film actress known for her work between the 1920s and 1970s. Yousuf Karsh, an Armenian–Canadian, was one of the best portrait photographers of the 20th century and was famous for a distinct style in his theatrical lighting techniques.
To round it up, the winning names of the NASA contest for marking a select five of Mercury’s impact craters cover Enheduanna, Carolan, Kulthum, Rivera and Karsh.